Senior Met Police Officer Awarded Knighthood For Successfully Arresting Fewer People

Last updated on October 19th, 2023 at 09:33 pm

Like many of you I noticed that Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey had been awarded a Knighthood in the New Years Honours List. Like a few of you I actually thought “what the **** did he get that for?”

Now I know the answer. This morning I stumbled upon this

Met Police Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey has been made a knight for services to policing.

In a citation he is commended for reducing stop and search by 70 per cent while doubling the arrest rate and overseeing a dramatic improvement in the recruitment of officers from ethnic minority backgrounds.

To say that I was shocked is an understatement.

Back in May 2017 I wrote a piece entitled

A Scoop For George Osborne – R.I.P. Stop And Search

The reason I wrote it, at the time, had naff all to do with (Sir) Craig Mackey, but more to do with a set of Stop and Search statistics issued by the Mayor of London’s office. Nobody is going to offer me a Knighthood so I can’t be arsed to bring the stats up to date but I don’t suppose the current stats are very different to those forming the basis of a Knighthood.

If you look at the above graph, the arrest rate has more than doubled from 8.3% to 19%. Brilliant? No?

Well actually no.

At the beginning of his graph 8.3% of 533,427 people stopped were getting arrested.  This means that 44,274 people stopped were getting arrested.  Fast Forward to 19% of 160,694 people arrested as a result of “better”, “more intelligence led” application of Stop and Search.  It seems like we’re doing SOOOOOOO much better. In reality those figures show that the Met arrested only 30,532 people, almost 33% FEWER

I won’t challenge the 70%, I’ll give him that, but I do think the stats above represent a reduction in Stop and Search of about 70% over the rolling 12 month period. However, a doubling of the arrest rate? No, I’m not having that. 33% fewer people were arrested over the identical period. To state that the arrest rate was doubled is just a cynical manipulation of the stats. Surely the Public at Large would rather have more prisoners in the Custody Suite than juggle with percentages. Smoke and Mirrors.

Stop and Search is Dead, RIP Stop and Search .  Theresa May should hang her head in shame, she is personally responsible for this latest trend.  Amber Rudd has done nothing, I think literally nothing. I can’t remember her most significant contribution, and NPCC have done little or nothing to challenge Mrs May or her successor on it.

So, ultimately, the Deputy Commissioner was actually awarded a Knighthood for producing an outcome desired by Mrs May, reducing Stop and Search by 70% and reducing clutter in the Custody Suites at the same time, but do not pretend to have doubled the arrest rates.